Amanda Falzone
| The Daily Wildcat
Natalynn Masters speaks to her audience during the ASUA presidential debates this Sunday, Feb. 26 at the Gallagher Theater in Tucson , Ariz.
By Editorial board

Published Feb 26, 2018 10:44am

Each year, the Daily Wildcat offers thoughts and endorsements for Associated Students of the University of Arizona candidates before the annual general election. Here are the 2018 election selections:

ASUA President:

Amanda Falzone
Natalynn Masters speaks to her audience during the ASUA presidential debates this Sunday, Feb. 26 at the Gallagher Theater in Tucson , Ariz.

Current ASUA Diversity Director Natalynn Masters has committed herself to multiple avenues of student leadership, and it is evident that one of her top priorities is to serve with the interests and needs of every student in mind.

Masters has the focus to pay specific attention to students of marginalized and minority communities who often feel they don’t have a voice or space on this campus.

While Anna Woolridge shares similar sentiments, her decision to place the ZonaZoo fee as a higher priority than some other important issues on her platform places the focus away from these underrepresented communities.

While Woolridge has a more detailed platform, Masters has shown the commitment to make sure students from all backgrounds will have a leader they can count on.

The Daily Wildcat endorses Masters with the expectation that she will expand her action plan upon election to ensure her intentions come to fruition.

Executive Vice President:

Although Matt Rein is running unopposed for the office of Executive Vice President, the candidate has not done enough to earn a full endorsement from The Daily Wildcat.

Rein is a competent ASUA candidate who knows the ins and outs of the organization due to his time with the group, but has done little to distinguish himself during that time or during his chances to speak this election.

If serving with Natalynn Masters, Rein is likely to provide a steady hand to allow the president to pursue her far-reaching goals and help ASUA expand beyond the current pool of students it normally interacts with.

However, if Rein is paired with fellow ASUA veteran Anna Woolridge, the group has a danger of becoming stagnant instead of reaching upwards to attain loftier goals.

The Daily Wildcat encourages voters to combine a Rein vote with a nod to Masters to ensure ASUA has the leadership it needs to function effectively while ensuring a greater portion of the student body is represented.

Administrative Vice President:

Neither candidate for ASUA Administrative Vice President, Kate Rosenstengel and Shawn McCarthy, have done much to set themselves apart in terms of their plans for students or in their performances during recent panels or debates.

Simon Asher
ASUA Administrative Vice President Candidate Kate Rosenstengel speaks about her platform during the AVP debate in the Sabino Room of the Student Union Memorial Center on Friday, Feb. 23.

Rosenstengel’s platform is lacking in concrete details, although she has acknowledged shortcomings in ASUA and the need to represent more voices on campus.

McCarthy has done well to voice his positions, but hasn’t shown the dedication to make sure all students are represented as has been seen with some other candidates.

Simon Asher
ASUA Administrative Vice President Candidate Shawn McCarthy speaks on his platform during the AVP debate in the Sabino Room of the Student Union Memorial Center on Friday, Feb. 23.

Some of McCarthy’s proposals, such as parking ticket diversion program, sound interesting in theory, but would have little chance of actually being implemented, and would still only benefit a very narrow section of the student population.

With both vice presidential races, as well as many senate races, where students ran unopposed or had no one run at all, a fundamental problem with ASUA has once again presented itself. Not enough good, qualified candidates are running for these offices.

ASUA needs to take a long look in the mirror and work to address the issues of low candidate and voter interest and turnout.

With barely more than 7 percent of students on campus voting, and with several colleges having no representation at all, the organization is in danger of becoming completely irrelevant if fundamental changes aren’t made soon.

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